WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Young adults and seniors in the U.S. hold sharply different views of the movie industry. More young people see the industry positively than negatively, whereas more seniors view it negatively than positively.

Americans' Ratings of Movie Industry, by Age

Based on combined 2017-2018 data

18-29

30-49

50-64

65+

%

%

%

%

Positive

52

45

39

32

Neutral

26

30

24

25

Negative

22

23

36

38

Net-positive score (pct. pts.)

+30

+22

+3

-6

No opinion not shown; Net positive = % positive minus % negative

GALLUP

The movie industry has a net-positive score of +30 among adults aged 18 to 29. That is the difference between the 52% of young adults viewing the movie industry positively and the 22% viewing it negatively. By contrast, the net-positive score of -6 among adults aged 65 and older reflects more negative than positive views: 38% vs. 32%, respectively.

Adults in the younger half of middle age, those 30 to 49, are closer to 18- to 29-year-olds in their views of Tinseltown, giving it a fairly robust +22 net-positive rating. Those in the second half of middle age, from 50 to 64, are closer to seniors in their views, giving it a tepid +3 net-positive rating.

These findings are based on combined 2017-2018 data from Gallup's annual business and industry sectors ratings, conducted each August. The larger sample sizes allow for more stable estimates by age. In both years, the movie industry was rated in the bottom half of the 25 sectors. This year, 40% of all U.S. adults rated it positively and 29% negatively, yielding a +11 net-positive score overall.

The movie industry's image has varied by age for a long time in Gallup's trends. However, the gap between the youngest and oldest adults has narrowed in the past decade, as the industry's positive rating among seniors has increased, while it has stayed about the same among younger adults.

Young Adults Also More Positive Toward Other Media-Related Industries

While not sparking as wide a generational gap as movies, three other media-related industries -- the internet, the computer, and the television and radio industries -- all receive significantly better ratings from young adults than from seniors.

The computer and internet industries enjoy fairly solid net-positive ratings from all age groups, although computers -- consistently one of the top-rated industries overall -- is particularly well-regarded. Its net-positive ratings by age range from +47 to +67, whereas the internet's ratings range from +18 to +37.

The television and radio industry has a solid +18 net-positive score from 18- to 29-year-olds, but this drops with age, and is +1 among seniors.

Net-Positive Ratings of Media-Related Industries, by Age

Based on combined 2017-2018 data

18-29

30-49

50-64

65+

Generational gap (18-29 vs. 65+)

Movie industry

+30

+22

+3

-6

+36

Internet industry

+37

+24

+24

+18

+19

Television and radio industry

+18

+13

+7

+1

+17

Computer industry

+67

+58

+47

+51

+16

Net positive = % positive minus % negative

GALLUP

As with the movie industry, the generational gaps seen toward television/radio, the internet and computers are not new, but have diminished a bit over time.

Negative Views of Pharmaceutical Industry Jump in Middle Age

Young adults are significantly more positive -- or, more correctly, less negative -- than seniors about one additional industry: pharmaceuticals.

Young adults and seniors each view the pharmaceutical industry more negatively than positively, but the negative tilt is far less pronounced among 18-to 29-year-olds, at -5, than it is among the oldest age group, at -25.

Notably, there is little difference by age in the pharmaceutical industry's positive ratings, but older adults -- who have presumably had much more experience using and paying for prescription drugs -- are more likely than those 18 to 29 to rate it negatively, resulting in the significant gap in net-positive scores.

Young adults, by contrast, are more likely than those 30 and older to have a "neutral" view of the pharmaceutical industry.

Americans' Ratings of Pharmaceutical Industry, by Age

Based on combined 2017-2018 data

18-29

30-49

50-64

65+

%

%

%

%

Positive

35

29

29

30

Neutral

24

12

16

14

Negative

40

59

55

55

Net-positive score (pct. pts.)

-5

-30

-26

-25

Net positive = % positive minus % negative

GALLUP

Two industries receive significantly better ratings from older than younger Americans -- the oil and gas industry, and banking.

Seniors are the only age group that is more likely to view the oil and gas industry positively than negatively, with a +10 net-positive score.

All age groups view the banking industry more positively than negatively, but this ranges from a fairly mild positive tilt among all age groups under age 65, to a robust +34 positive rating among seniors.

Industries Viewed Most Positively by Seniors, Net-Positive Ratings by Age

Based on combined 2017-2018 data

18-29

30-49

50-64

65+

Generational gap (18-29 vs. 65)

Oil and gas

-7

-20

-10

+10

-17

Banking

+13

+5

+9

+34

-21

Net positive = % positive minus % negative

GALLUP

Smaller or, in some cases, nonexistent generational differences are seen for the other 19 industries rated in 2017 and 2018. The net-positive scores by age for all 25 industries are shown at the end of this report.

Bottom Line

Young adults have a greater affinity than older Americans for media-related industries, including the more traditional purveyors of content -- movies and television -- as well as more recent entrants into the space, represented by the computer and internet industries. Whether this has to do with the values represented by each industry or people's routine use of them isn't clear. The generational gaps are slimmer than in the past but are still among the most significant measured for U.S. industries.

The pharmaceutical industry is also rated more positively by young adults than by middle-aged and older Americans. That likely reflects young people's more limited experience in using or paying for prescription drugs. On the other hand, they are less positive than older Americans about the banking and oil and gas industries, possibly reflecting broader perspectives about the societal impact of each.

These results are based on combined data from Gallup’s August 2017 and August 2018 Work and Education polls, including approximately 500 interviews in 2017 and 900 interviews in 2018. For results based on the total sample of approximately 1,400 national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.

Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 70% cellphone respondents and 30% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.

Recommended

Americans' average rating of 25 U.S. industries and sectors is down from a year ago, but the rank order is similar. Computer and restaurant industries are at the top while the federal government and pharmaceuticals are at the bottom.